Linux Professional Institute appoints new President and CEO
(Toronto, Canada: November 29, 2005) The Linux Professional Institute
(LPI), (http://www.lpi.org), the world's premier Linux certification
organization, is pleased to announce that LPI Board member, Jim Lacey,
has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the
organization.
"The Board of Directors of LPI are delighted that Mr. Lacey has made
himself available for this challenging and demanding position. We on
the Board have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Lacey for several
years and we have always valued and respected his counsel. We welcome
him to this new role and are certain that his knowledge of the IT
training and certification industry will serve him well in providing
leadership to the organization," said Gen Narui, LPI Board member and
Chairman of LPI affiliate, LPI-Japan.
Jim Lacey joined the Board of Directors of the Linux Professional
Institute in July 2001 following two years service on LPI's Advisory
Council as a representative of CompUSA. He has held officer positions
on the Board of Directors of LPI as both Vice-President and Chairman. In
accepting this new responsibility at LPI, Jim leaves behind his present
position as President and CEO of Bradford Learning--a provider of IT
training courseware. Bradford Learning has earned a global reputation
as a provider of high quality Linux courseware and was one of the first
organizations to provide LPI Approved Training Material (LATM).
Jim has extensive experience within the IT training sector having
previously served as General Manager at Linuxcare Corporation and as
Director of Operations for the Technology Training Division of CompUSA.
Jim also served on CompTIA’a Certification Steering Council and
numerous advisory councils to help shape the IT certification landscape.
"We have seen many significant milestones this past year at LPI which is
due to the dedication and commitment of LPI's staff and volunteers and
the inspired leadership of the Board of Directors. I was happy to take
part in that effort and I look forward to making greater contributions
to the organization in my new role," said Jim Lacey.
While at Linuxcare Corporation, Jim was responsible for strategic
direction, profit and loss, marketing, sales and general operations of
Linuxcare University--a strategic line-of-business within the company.
At CompUSA he managed day-to-day internal operations for a $150 MM
training business with a wide range of duties including project
management, facilities management, instructor development, centralized
training delivery, call center operations and state certification
policy. Jim's previous positions at CompUSA included Regional Training
Director for a five state territory and as a Training Center Business
Manager in Northern Ohio. Prior to CompUSA, Jim was a Territory Sales
Manager with Serono Diagnostics, a manufacturer of medical diagnostic
equipment, and a joint venture and subsidiary of the Ares-Serono Group
of Switzerland. He also managed the Ohio valley territory for
Polaroid-Behring Diagnostics. Some notable achievements while in these
positions include:
- increased revenue at a $60MM pre-IPO startup by 350% in six months
- created an International Channel Partner network in 14 countries
- management of a department of over 125 personnel and a further 1000+
instructors
- expanded operations and sales for a $11 MM sales region while
achieving profit goals of 175%
- doubled product revenues in one year over a five state territory
Jim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from United
States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. Following his education Jim
served for six years in the United States Army as a commissioned
officer, attaining the rank of Captain. Jim makes his home in El Dorado
Hills, California.
The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) is an internationally recognized,
vendor-independent organization advocating and assisting the
professional use of Linux, Open Source and Free Software, through the
certification of Linux professionals. Established as a non-profit
organization in 1999, LPI is community based and supported. LPI's
certification program is delivered worldwide in seven languages. The
organization has delivered over 100,000 Level One and Level Two
certification exams, globally, since the programs inception.
LPI supports affiliates on five continents, including Brazil, Bulgaria,
United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Australia, China, France, the UK
and South Africa.
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The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) develops professional
certification for the Linux operating system, independent of software
vendors or training providers. Established as an international
non-profit organization in 1999 by the Linux community, LPI develops
accessible, internationally-recognized certification programs which have
earned the respect of vendors, employers and administrators. LPI's
activities involve hundreds of volunteers and professionals throughout
the world in many different capacities, and the group encourages active
public involvement through mailing lists and its website at www.lpi.org.
LPI's multi-level program of exams is administered globally through
Pearson VUE and Prometric testing centers. LPI's major financial
sponsors are Platinum Sponsors IBM, Linux Journal, Linux Magazine,
Maxspeed, Novell, SGI, and TurboLinux as well as Gold Sponsors,
Hewlett-Packard and IDG.
Media contact:
Scott Lamberton
Director of Community Relations
Linux Professional Institute
Email: scottl_at_lpi.org
Web: http://www.lpi.org
Telephone: +1-416-666-1574